Benny Perrin | THE BIG RED ZONE

It’s rare when a football team finds two offensive tackles in the same draft who not only start immediately as rookies but become longtime pillars of the line.

That was the case in 1982, when the Cardinals drafted UCLA’s Luis Sharpe in the first round (16^th overall) and East Carolina’s Tootie Robbins in the fourth round (90^th).

The Big Red traded down five spots in Round 1 and made Sharpe their first offensive lineman taken in the first round in 20 years (Irv Goode, 1962). An All-American and a three-year starter in college, the 6-5, 275-pound Sharpe was voted UCLA’s most valuable player in 1981. Jim Hanifan, who had been an NFL offensive line coach before being named head coach of the Cardinals in 1980, recognized Sharpe’s potential from Day 1.

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With the NFL celebrating its centennial season in 2019, the league will soon be announcing its top 100 players of all-time. I thought it would be fun to look back and rank the Big Red’s top 100 players who played in St. Louis.

The Cardinals moved from Chicago after the 1959 season and played 28 years in St. Louis before Bill Bidwill moved to the desert in 1988. Several great players played under the arch during this period including four Hall of Famers.

These rankings are only based on the player’s time spent in St. Louis. Consideration was given to the player’s statistics, All-Pro/Pro Bowl selections, team leadership, and impact in the community. It is next to impossible to compare eras, so many of these picks were very difficult.

The Top 100 St. Louis Football Cardinals of All-Time: 50-41

50. BENNY PERRIN (S)

Benny Perrin played four seasons in St. Louis.

The late Benny Perrin was the Cards 3rd round pick in 1982 out of Alabama where he won two National Championships under Bear Bryant. Perrin had 9 INTs and two fumble recoveries during his 4 year NFL career and was the Big Red co-rookie of the year in ’82. Perrin started his first 41 NFL games, but a nagging knee injury cost him half the season in ’85 and would ultimately force him to retire the following training camp. Perrin was a gritty player, a team leader, and played through numerous injuries in his short career. He battled CTE for several years before passing away in 2017.

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